Drink Specialties of Epcot

First I’m Disney Gal Judy‘s son. I’m 32 and a Chief Petty Officer in the U.S. Coast Guard. I am a homebrewer and write a blog about my travels and brewing. I’ve been going to Disney since before I was born (no, really mom went when she was pregnant with me). I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve been to the parks on both coasts. I’m usually the one taking the photos at Disney so I’m not usually in them (thanks mom).

Drink your way around the world or One reason EPCOT is my favorite park:I love EPCOT. As a homebrewer, food and beer lover it’s a great place to experience new flavors and, especially during the Food and Wine Festival, different beers from around the world.

When it comes to the parks I get a little disappointed in the beer selection. Yes, I will admit I’ve been accused of being a beer snob. I prefer the moniker of beer geek personally but I think you get the idea. My problem is that in the parks that serve alcohol the beer is usually an AB InBev product. I won’t go into an entire diatribe here but suffice it to say…not my first choice.Enter EPCOT, home to beverages from other places. In general when you’re walking through the park you will be able to get a beer from each country.

It has become the “in” thing to do an EPCOT pub crawl and groups now have t-shirts, hats and lanyards devoted to their particular way of accomplishing this feat. If you think about it this is not a task for the feint of heart…or liver. You are going to be consuming 11 alcoholic beverages on a hot day as you walk at least 1.2 miles or more. If you try this during the Food and Wine Festival there are even more places to add to your list.

Before we start some rules. These are my personal rules and are for the benefit of yourself and other park goers.

1. Don’t be a jerk. Nothing can ruin a person’s trip to Disney quicker than a group of drunks in their favorite park. I’ve seen it more and more on every visit. Don’t be “that guy”.

2. Spread it out. Get there early and stay late. This will spread you drinks out over time and reduce the chance that you will violate rule #1.

3. Do it as a group. Think about it, you can share.

4. Drink water and eat. This is not a rule to be ignored.

5. Have a designated driver/jerk referee. This person will make sure you make it safely to your goal and home again. This person is also given the power to end the quest for group members who have had too much “fun”.

It doesn’t matter where you start and end. The choice is yours. One tip though, stick to the alcohol you started with…switching is a good way to get sick and end your quest early. So NO SHOTS! I’m not going to go crazy and list every beverage and restaurant in the park. What I will do is tell you some of my favorites.

The Pavilions:Canada – Try a Unibroue brew at the Canada beer cart and walk the paths to enjoy the scenery. The Unibroue brewery in Quebec brews some great beer and each honors a story or tradition in Canada.

China – Grab a TsingTao as you get your photo in front of the Forbidden City.